Have you ever thought about what you would die for? Poet Jared Smith certainly has.  I have had the privilege to publish, interview and break bread with Jared over the years. He has an interesting background. While at NYU, Jared studied under poet/critic M.L. Rosenthal, Library of Congress Adviser Robert Hazel, and founder of The New York Quarterly William Packard. He has served as a member of the Screening Committee and on the Board of Directors of The New York Quarterly under founding Editor William Packard, as well as being a current member of its Advisory Board under Raymond Hammond; as coordinator of readings at two Greenwich Village coffee shops in the 70s; as a Guest Columnist for Poets magazine and Home Planet News under Editor Don Lev; as Guest Poetry Editor for two issues of The Pedestal under Editor John Amen; and as Poetry Editor of Trail & Timberline.

Words read from books

by their mothers

who look beyond office windows

when the body gives out

at the end day.
*

The sergeant

giving orders on the wings

of death at dawn
*

A woman who smells

of Saks Fifth Avenue and

something that is of herself
*

Children who are open hearts

beating in the light beneath stars

that he carries within his chest
*

Alphanumeric equations

played across violin strings

in songs by Einstein and Oppenheimer

pressed into digital equations by Google Earth
*

The little things that mean everything

where words first open on an intake of breath

and then let their meaning out into the night
*

A punch card, a time clock, and all that is noble.
*

_______________________________________________
To have your work considered for the Lyrical send it to:
Doug Holder, 25 School St.; Somerville, MA 02143.
dougholder@post.harvard.edu